


The Ship's Cat

by wanderingflame



Category: Prometheus (2012), X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Best Friends, Cat!Charles, Gen, Pets, Space Flight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-30
Updated: 2012-05-30
Packaged: 2017-11-06 06:52:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/416005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wanderingflame/pseuds/wanderingflame
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>David 8 is given a companion to share the long journey with.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Ship's Cat

**Author's Note:**

> This is apparently what happens when I have writer's block. 
> 
> This all started with Palalife's picture of David 8 and cat!Charles escaping an Alien, which you can see [here](http://palalife.tumblr.com/post/23432315585/david-8-and-cat-charles-on-a-mission-but-being).
> 
> Then Zimothy made [this post](http://zimothy.tumblr.com/post/23657630326) and my brain took it and ran. 
> 
> I originally only intended to clean up the version I posted to my XMFC blog, but then I wrote some more.

Two blue eyes peered out at David through the carrier grate. 

“A cat?” he asked Doctor Shaw. She was smiling when he straightened and turned to her. 

“Yes,” she said. “In seafaring times, it was traditional to bring a cat along so it could help control pests on the boat.” 

“The _Prometheus_ is outfitted with several state-of-the-art methods of pest control, as well as stronger measures for larger, more hostile, creatures.” David paused, momentarily perplexed by the doctor's amusement until he deduced the reason behind it. “Ah. You're not bringing it along to control pests.” 

“No,” she agreed. “Some would say it's silly for me to worry about an android being lonely, but I thought it might be nice to have company while the rest of us are asleep.” 

“Has the captain approved of this?” 

“I managed to convince him,” Doctor Shaw said, but David predicted there was more to her answer. However, when she didn't elaborate he decided it would be considered rude to question her about it. Instead, he bent down to look into the carrier on the table. 

Those blue eyes were still watching him. After a moment, the cat issued a trilling chirp and rubbed against the grate, looking expectantly at David. Curious, David reached out a hand and slipped his fingers through the bars. The cat chirped again and this time it rubbed against his fingers instead of the grate. Its fur was soft but the muscles beneath moved with hidden strength. David heard a chuckle and looked up to see a pleased Doctor Shaw watching him. 

“His name is Charles, and I think he likes you.” 

~~

Charles was on the small side for a cat—at least, according to David's data files—and had brown fur with white markings on his paws and tail, as well as around his mouth. He frequently let David pet him and often tilted his head up to allow David to scratch under his chin, all the while his eyes closed in apparent bliss. 

Charles wore an electronic collar that monitored his life signs and location within the ship, but it hardly seemed necessary when he rarely left David's side. David had tried only once to lock Charles up while he checked the _Prometheus'_ systems and crew. Charles' persistent cries, growing louder the further David walked down the hall, had been too distressing for him to ignore. In the end, he returned to his room and opened the door. As soon as he did, Charles bolted free but he quickly came to a halt once he realized David wasn't trying to stop him. He walked over to David and twined about his legs, purring the whole time, then came to a stop with his front paws on David's foot, tail curled around one calf and face lifted upwards. Charles seemed so genuinely grateful to be let out that David was left awestruck by the display. As he knelt to pet Charles reassuringly, he decided it would be unnecessary to lock him up ever again. 

~~

Occasionally Charles would wander off to investigate on his own, but only after he had determined David was staying in one place for a time. When Charles did explore, David would hear calls of “Mrow?” from wherever he had gone. Without considering whether it was unusual to do so, David responded. 

“What have you found?” he asked once and heard a short meow in response. He reasoned that Charles had determined there was nothing to report yet, but would continue investigating. 

Whenever Charles returned from exploring, he always trotted over with his tail held high, blue eyes trained on David. Often, he chirped to let David know he was back and then he would stand by the chair expectantly until David reached down to scratch his head. It became almost habit for David to reach out and find Charles within arm's reach, happy to let David pet him. David enjoyed it just as much as Charles seemed to, for he found Charles' fur fascinating. It was softer than anything David had felt before and his data files informed him this was not true for all cats. He decided it was due to Charles constant cleaning, although he had read this was normal for most felines. 

The feline bathing process intrigued him and he often watched with great interest as Charles meticulously covered every inch of his fur with his rough tongue. That, too, was a fact about cats that David found fascinating. He held out his hand once while Charles was cleaning, and the little cat gave his fingers a brief lick. David thrilled at the strange sensation. For all of his inborn knowledge, he had never interacted with anything other than humans, and he welcomed this chance to observe first-hand things he only knew as cold words in a file stored inside him. 

Charles, for his part, seemed unconcerned by the attention, although he did tilt his head at David from time to time, returning the android's look of curiosity with one of his own. 

~~

In his attempts to become the best owner Charles could have, David learned that cats often looked for places to nap that were soft and warm, as their body temperatures dropped while they slept. He lamented his inability to give Charles a sunny spot to lie in, as that seemed a common preference among domesticated felines. Still, he would not be deterred. 

By their second day on the ship, he had devised a small bed for Charles using a blanket and square metal container. He folded and re-folded the blanket several times before he was satisfied enough to approach Charles with it. However, when he set the bed on the floor for Charles to inspect, his friend circled it, bent his head to sniff at the fabric, and then looked up at David. Confused by this reaction, David knelt beside his creation and patted the blanket. 

“It's for you, Charles,” he explained. Charles obligingly stepped into the container and sat down on the folded blanket, but he still looked up at David as though he had a question he couldn't voice. David remained puzzled by his behavior but since Charles didn't appear unhappy, David left him to get comfortable on his own. 

He took a seat at the ship's console and began pulling up menus on the screens before him, running through the usual diagnostics. He was surprised to feel something softly batting at his knee a moment later. When he sat back and looked down, he found Charles standing on his back feet, one of his paws on the chair for balance as he pawed at David's knee. As soon as there was space between David and the console, Charles leapt up into his lap. 

David was momentarily at a loss for how to react but in the half-second it took him to reference his data files, Charles began kneading David's thigh with his little white paws. This was something David remembered quite well from his research and a smile stretched across his face in response. 

Cats exhibited a kneading motion when feeling content or at ease. Charles looked very focused now, eyes half-closed as he slowly sank lower in David's lap, purring and kneading the whole time. Eventually he paused, turned around twice until he had found the right spot—David was curious as to how cats determined this—and then he curled up across David's legs. Within moments, he appeared to be sound asleep. 

David knew he should return to his duties but he allowed himself a short break to watch Charles sleep. The smile on his face never wavered, nor did the warm feeling of joy in his chest. It was the first time he was truly grateful he had been programmed how to feel as humans did. 

~~

Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months. 

David found himself conversing more and more with Charles, who always watched with rapt attention when he spoke. 

He explained the mission of the _Prometheus_ and the purpose for David being there. Charles followed him as he went from crew member to crew member, looking in on their dreams, and David explained afterward what he had seen. He wondered sometimes if Charles dreamed. David thought he must, because there were times he was sprawled across David's lap and his paws and whiskers would twitch, responding to some stimuli David couldn't see. 

David didn't dream, but he didn't mind that. What bothered him more was that Charles couldn't describe his dreams for David, couldn't tell him how they differed from human dreams. 

David didn't require sleep, but he did enjoy resting for short stretches of time, simply allowing his body to be still and quiet. It pleased him to think this made him like Charles, who spread his sleep requirement throughout the day, breaking it into a few hours here and there. When David did rest, Charles always curled up with him on the cot in his quarters. Usually Charles lay beside him, his small body radiating a surprising level of heat where it pressed against David's side. But occasionally when David opened his eyes, he would find Charles sitting on his chest, feet and tail tucked under him so that only the white on his face was visible. On those days, Charles greeted him by butting his head against David's chin before hopping down so David could sit up. 

~~

Two days before the crew were scheduled to awaken, David was surprised to recognize the growing unease within him as regret. He had come to treasure his time with Charles and he knew that once the others were around, things wouldn't be the same. Not all humans cared for cats, let alone doted on them as David did. These thoughts troubled him as he rose from his rest, leading him to sit on the cot longer than usual as he contemplated the upcoming changes. Charles, who had trotted over to the door, came back to his side with a questioning trill. 

“The others will wake up soon,” he explained. “I do not know what will happen then.” 

Would Charles give them the same attention he bestowed on David? Would he prefer the company of other living beings to that of an android? Would the crew be kind to Charles and allow him free reign as David did? Would Charles be all right on the ship while David joined the doctor and other members of the crew to explore the planet? It had always been part of the mission plans, and yet David had never considered the effect it would have on his little friend. Not until now. 

He felt a dull pain within him that couldn't be attributed to any physical cause and was stunned by a sudden dampness on his cheeks. He was crying. For the first time since his initial tests had been run, David had found cause to shed tears, however few there were. 

Charles meowed sharply, jumping up into David's lap and putting his paws against David's chest so that their faces were level. He meowed again and the sound reminded David of when Charles had been locked in his room. Charles rubbed his cheek against David's, clearly upset. 

“I'm sorry, Charles,” David said, and lifted a hand to scratch Charles under the chin. His friend allowed it but only briefly before butting against him again. David felt a small smile creep onto his face. “I'm all right now.” His tears were already drying and his chest felt lighter from the resolution he'd just come to. Charles dropped to all fours and sat down on David's thigh, looking up at him with his head tilted as though still concerned. David allowed his smile to broaden. 

“I was worried how the crew will treat you when they wake up,” he explained, “but then I realized it doesn't matter. I will still be here to look out for you and I'll make sure no one mistreats you. I'll even give you extra attention if they ignore you.” He knew his free time would be limited once they reached the planet, but he didn't feel it necessary to point that out. “You may have to stay here on the ship without me after we arrive, but I'll come back to you. I promise. And when we're done and the _Prometheus_ returns to Earth, we'll make that journey together as we did this one, with the ship all to ourselves.” 

Charles looked at him in silence for a long minute before letting out a happy “Mrow-ow!”. David thought it sounded like an agreement. This time, Charles allowed David to pet him and scratch under his chin uninterrupted, and when they finally left the room, the unhappy interlude had been put behind them. 

~~

In his study of humans and human life, David had learned of a quote from an author now long dead: “The best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry.” Fortunately for them, androids and cats were not included in that prediction. 

Despite everything that came to follow after their arrival on the planet's surface, David kept his promise to Charles and they made the journey home to Earth together. 

And just as he'd said, they had the ship all to themselves.


End file.
